The Oldest Girl In The World is a poetry book by the Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy. Though billed as a book for children the book also appeals to adults -the poems are funny, inventive, thoughtful and charmingly illustrated.

Scotland has produced internationally recognised authors, many of whom have used their country as a setting for thier novels. The range is vast - from Ian Rankin's Rebus novels which explore the dark side of Edinburgh to Dorothy Dunnett's King Hereafter, a challenging version of Macbeth's story.

Scotland has had a shorter history of the written word than many cultures. The primary source of history and knowledge has been the human voice speaking and singing tales of the past, stories of the present and imaginings of futures yet to come.